Rebirth (Sing 2016)
by Sammy Heroes
Summary: What Lance did was unforgivable. He broke Ash's heart and left her alone in the world. Maybe he did deserve everything life threw at him from now on. But does he really deserve it when he starts to grow a feeling of regret? Maybe he still does. This is Lance's redemption story. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

**Rebirth (Sing 2016):**

 **Summary: What Lance did was unforgivable. He broke Ash's heart and left her alone in the world. Maybe he did deserve everything life threw at him from now on. But does he really deserve it when he starts to grow a feeling of regret? This is Lance's redemption story.**

 _I can't remember what happened. All I know is that some doctors, nurses or whoever they are, were trying to cover my eyes with some wet cloth and rushing me into some room._

 _Yeah, I know all of you hate me for cheating on Ash. So maybe I kind of deserved what happened to me._

 _I guess I learned my lesson the hard way._

Lance woke up to the sound of a crash. He took a peek out of the window and saw two cars that had slammed into each other. He groaned. He hated this stupid cheap apartment. Ash's was way better. How rude of her leaving him out just like that. He shook his head and decided to do his morning exercises before grabbing some breakfast, dress and go to that mediocre restaurant to perform.

As he walked down the street to take the train, he spotted his best friend Arnold on the station with his portable drums (you know, the ones that require electricity and are easier to carry around). Lance rolled his eyes when the male platypus waved at him. He might have been his best friend, but he could be annoying at times. He recently got him into that small band he formed with Becky and now he played the drums, giving them a bit of flavor for lack of a better word.

"How ya doing, Lance?" He said in his faint Australian accent.

"Terrible. You?" Lance snapped, but as always, the platypus shrugged.

"Lovely. Mom sent me a birthday present."

"Oh goodie…" Lance rolled his eyes. He was too old for birthdays.

"Geez, what's with you today?"

"Not ya."

"Not ya what?"

"Not ya business."

"Someone's grumpy today. Did karma pay you a little visit?" The platypus teased. "Oh, right. How can she? You don't even have a freaking conscience!"

The train stopped in front of them and they stepped. "How many times do I have to tell you, Arnold? Let it go!"

" _Can hold it back anymore_." Arnold quoted. His voice was a bit more softer than Lance's, but he knew that his friend was kind of jealous, so that's why he stayed in the background with his loyal drums.

Lance gave him a warning look and he sat down. "Stop it…"

The platypus gave him a small glare. "Dude, you should really apologize to _her_."

Lance groaned. "There's no _her_ , Arnold."

"You're afraid of her, are you?"

"What?" Lance gave him a shocked look.

"Ever since you saw her on TV, you've been super grumpy, irritable and frown all the time. And Becky has noticed nothing. She doesn't even care! Dude, she doesn't even have a brain, that girl is stupid I'm telling ya! And you want to stay with her? Really?"

"Becky is not stupid!"

"She asked me the other day if I was the spawn of a duck and a beaver's forbidden love even after I explained to her that that's not the case and my species has always been like this." He adjusted his AC/DC t-shirt with jean jacket and neat perfume. Arnold always dressed better than Lance anyways.

"Well, who wouldn't ask? You are a nature phenomenon." Lance snapped.

"She also asked if aliens brought me here to experiment on you guys." Arnold deadpanned.

Lance stayed silent. "Well, Becky might not be the smartest girl out there, but she is an excellent singer."

The platypus scoffed. "Yeah, right. She sounds like a dying whale." He received a glare from the porcupine. "Oh, come on, admit it." Lance looked away and Arnold placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Hey, let's be honest."

Lance looked at him. Maybe for once, the platypus was going to give him some words of advice that will actually help him.

"That girl is a bitch."

Oh.

"That's it, I'm not allowing to talk about her like that."

"Dude, sooner or later she will betray you just like you did with poor Ash and when that happens, just know I always have comfort food in my apartment if you need a shoulder to cry on."

Lance decided to ignore him, like ignored everything that happened to him nowadays.

"Also, why did you dressed with those clothes again?" The platypus asked.

Lance looked down at his clothes. True they were the same ones he was wearing the day he broke up with Ash, and many days after that. "What's wrong with this?"

"You look like a homeless guy, man. And you need a shower."

"They cut my water supply again."

"I told you to get a real job."

Lance glared. "I have a job!"

"No you don't if it doesn't pay the bills. I at least work part time at the music store three corners from here. I can speak with the manager if you want." Arnold smiled.

"Nah…"

"Then be and smell like a homeless guy for the rest of your life. Ladies don't like that."

Lance rolled his eyes and looked out of the window.

"You're jealous."

Lance turned back to the platypus as the train came to a stop. "I'm sorry?"

"You, crazy son of a gun, are jealous of Ash because she reached fame and is a rising star but you haven't yet!" Arnold chuckled. "I love this kind of soap operas."

The train came to a stop and Lance stepped out. "I'm going to kick you out of the band, Arnold." He said with a warning look.

"You wouldn't."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm too precious for you. And you need a drummer and also nobody likes you. Or love you. Or even want to be near you. Especially when you smell and look like a homeless guy, no offence to homeless guys. So yeah. And if it wasn't for me," They had reached the restaurant. "People will be out for your blood and hang your spikes on their walls."

"That graphic image wasn't necessary, Arnold." Lance made a disgusted face.

"They make the perfect stuff for spike collars, you know."

"Shut. Up."

The platypus shrugged and resumed taking out his equipment before he spotted Becky walking towards them. "Hey." She said.

"Hey." Said Lance with a grin. They gave each other a quick kiss on the lips. Arnold put his finger on his mouth as a signal that he wanted to vomit. Lance rolled his eyes. "So," He said to Becky. "You ready?"

"Duh!" She said.

Suddenly, the owner of the restaurant came up to them. "Sorry, but you can't perform today."

"What?" they asked.

"Another act came up. Good music for cheap!" He laughed. "And she's an Italian violinist. Haven't heard one as good as her!" He signaled to the stage. An elegant looking porcupine played the instrument with mastery as the public clapped for more.

Lance only saw red. "Hey! We are the ones who perform here!"

"With that attitude, not again. I can pay you the day and give you a free unlimited dinner, but you're not performing here again. Sorry." He gave them some money and led them to a table.

"So, Lance. How does it feel to be mistreated like you do with everyone else?" Arnold said as he grabbed a fork and placed it near Lance's face like a microphone.

"Who do you think you are, Arnold?" Lance pushed the fork away and groaned.

"Your best friend forever and your conscience. It's been an awful lot of time since we've spoken. How are you?" The platypus said sarcastically and he looked down at his menu. He really missed being around Ash. He sighed. A pity that Lance never saw what he had in her. Pity, a little platypus like him could have been lucky if a girl like Ash wanted to be with him. "The violinist is good you know." He commented.

"Shut up." Lance kept glaring at the porcupine that occupied the stage. His stage! He was planning to have an interesting conversation with that 'show stealer'.

And so the hours went by and the porcupine's performance came to an end, earning her several rounds of applause. She took her violin, gave a bow and gracefully left the stage.

"Let's go." Lance said as he pulled Becky's hand.

Arnold looked up from his plate. "But, dude! Free food!" He spoke up with his mouth full.

"You already six plates! Come on!"

Arnold groaned and placed as much food as he could in his mouth and followed his friend. In the backstage, the elegant looking female porcupine was adjusting the strings of her violin when Lance barged in. She looked up from her violin. She had dark brown eyes and her front spikes hanged over her eyebrows, giving her a graceful look. She wore black dress pants and a black short sleeved button shirt with short heels. But, Arnold thought, she looked like their age.

"Who do you think you are, stealing my stage like that!?" Lance screamed at her as Becky nodded in agreement. Arnold shook his head.

The female porcupine had an impassive face. "I do not know what you are talking about, sir." She had a thick Italian accent.

Arnold smiled. " _Mamma mia_ …" He got a small smile from the porcupine.

Lance glared. "This was our job until you stole it with your stupid violin!"

The girl shrugged. "It's called _talent_ and I wouldn't have 'stolen' your job as you state if you had at least a bit of it."

Lance stayed silent. Arnold, as much as he didn't want to, grinned. "Oh, burn…"

Lance glared at him but looked back at the porcupine. "You better back off or else."

"Or else what?" The female stared at him with an impassive face.

Becky placed her hand on her hip. "Or we pluck out those hideous spikes of yours because seriously, they're bloody awful, girl."

"And that comes from a girl that always tries to belittle others so she can feel good about herself? I pity you, really."

Becky stared in shock.

"Another burn…." Arnold whispered, more excited to see a 'bitch fight'.

"Why you little—" Lance was interrupted by the Italian.

"See this violin? This is a cheap violin. It doesn't sound as fine as the others. Do you know what that means?"

"What?" Lance spat.

The violin met his nose, making him lose his balance and fell on the floor. Becky kneeled beside him. "Bon bon!"

"It means it can easily be replaced." She took the broken violin and put it back on its case. "Remember from this moment on that Italians do know how to hold a grudge. Now, if you excuse me, I have an audition to get to." She walked past the fallen porcupine that held his possibly broken nose. She handed Arnold a piece of paper with her phone number on it. She smiled at him "Call me." She opened the exit door, looked back and cracked a small smile. "The name's Natasha, by the way." And she left.

"I got an Italian badass chick's number. Lucky me!" Arnold looked down at Lance with a small grin. "Dude, that chick," He and Becky helped him stand up. "…Just beat the crap out of you and it was hilarious. And she's sexy too."

"Just take me to a doctor." Lance said as he saw he was bleeding a bit.

"Karma, Lance, karma."

"Fuck you and your karma."

 **I had this idea for a long time and I really hope you liked it. I actually thought that Lance was a good character that needs some major development to be liked by this new fandom and I decided to give it a try. The 'not ya' scene is from Moana, good movie by the way. Tell me what you think of Natasha and Arnold. I imagine Natasha playing the violin like Lindsey Stirling. As you can see, they will have major roles in the story. As for how long it will be, I'm think that maybe seven chapters will be enough or less, but it won't be a long story. Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm really surprised at the amount of support this story has. I'm super happy and thank you all!**

 **Rebirth (Sing 2016):**

 **Chapter 2:**

Lance groaned as he looked at himself in the mirror. He winced as he touched his nose. It freaking hurt. He didn't like it when someone put him down. So not him. He groaned. His life had gone down the hill ever since he broke up with Ash.

Her name kind of haunted him. Every once in a while, he will see posters of the next big shows around the city and people will talk about them excitedly. And on most posters, Ash was there. People talked about her promising future as a rock star and how brave and bold she was. Others talked about her wild beauty. Meanwhile Lance stood on the sideways taking part time jobs to survive and pay the low rent from his cheap apartment. She was rising and he was falling. Once upon a time they had been on equal terms, at least in Lance's eyes. Now he was sure to end up homeless one of these days. If hadn't…

 _No._

"No regrets, Lance, no regrets." He told himself. But he couldn't help it.

 _Maybe I might have been better off with Ash. Maybe if… if I had treated her right and allowed her to be her own person…_

"Stop thinking about bullshit, Lance. Becky is your girlfriend now."

 _But Becky is not Ash._

Lance sighed. He would admit he was a bit jealous of Ash. What aspiring rock star wouldn't? She had a promising future, an amazing job at the theater and many other things she might have never acquired if she was still with him. He wouldn't be surprised if another boy had snatched her up already. She was truly a beautiful girl.

 _Maybe we could have gotten them together…_

But he knew that wasn't true either.

He liked Becky, she wasn't bad. He wasn't sure if he actually loved her though. But it was something. He shook his head, pushing the thoughts away.

He decided that a good night's sleep wouldn't be so bad.

Next morning, he woke up early. He did his daily routine and was soon out on the streets with his electric guitar case on hand, looking for a new job.

"Hey, Lance!" He saw Arnold wave at him from the distance. The platypus ran towards him. "How's your nose?"

"Fine, I guess." Lance said as he continued to walk.

"Looking for a performance job? Me too!"

"Arnold, if you're going to say something, just say it."

Arnold started to laugh. "Dude, that Natasha just swung her violin and I could basically hear the crack from your nose. I felt sorry for you, but it was also hilarious."

"I wish it was you who had gotten hurt."

"But I wasn't the one messing with people I don't know and could chop me up at any given moment. Besides, she gave me her number." Arnold said. "But I had the most fun when she owned Becky!" He laughed.

"Arnold, stop teasing Becky."

"She's not good, I'm telling ya'." Arnold warned and he walked beside the porcupine. "But on other news, you want some skittles?" He held up a small of the delicious treat.

Lance rolled his eyes and held his hand. "Sure."

Arnold gave him a handful and he ate the rest. "So, any new song?"

"Well, yes."

"One that you don't go screaming your lungs out?"

Lance stayed silent.

"Dude, you need some lessons."

"Oh yeah? Why don't you write a song?"

"At least I admit that I'm a terrible songwriter. The last song I wrote was about cheese…" The platypus said. " _Cheese! Oh, sweet, stinky cheese—_ Don't give me that look, I'm kidding!"

Lance rolled his eyes. "Yes, you are terrible." He kept walking. "I was thinking about writing a song of the injustice done to a guy like me, what do you think? Arnold? Arnold?" Lance searched around for the platypus until he saw him staring inside a store with a shocked expression on his face. He walked up to him.

"That… _bitch_ …" He only managed to say.

Lance looked up and to his surprise, he dropped the skittles in his hand. Becky was sitting in front of another porcupine that wore a sports shirt underneath a Lakers jacket. And they were kissing. Lance felt his eyes water and suddenly all the suppressed guilt, the sadness, the jealousy, the regret resurfaced. Now he suddenly understood why everyone blamed him over his and Ash's break up. He was now standing on Ash's shoes.

"Lance?" Arnold's voice brought him back to reality.

Lance didn't look at him. He ran.

"Lance!" Arnold heard Arnold yelling and running behind him.

Lance wasn't looking where he was going. Rage blurred his vision. It was not rage at Becky. Not at Ash. At _himself_.

"LANCE, WATCH OUT!"

He hadn't noticed he had stopped right in the middle of a busy street. He didn't feel any pain.

 _So yeah, that's how I ended up in the hospital half dead with some bandage over my eyes. I couldn't see a damn thing. I knew I was waking up because I was having thoughts, not nightmares. Those were terrible thoughts. For a moment I thought I was blind. So I screamed in terror._

"I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING!"

"Lance! Calm down!" The familiar voice of a girl tried to soothe him. Natasha. Why was she there, Lance wouldn't know until later.

Then he heard more people coming into the room again. Someone, presumably a nurse, injected him something. Soon enough, he began to get drowsy and fell unconscious.

 **I can't believe how many of you liked this story! I'm so happy! Thank you!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I know nothing about medicine, so I tried to write everything as accurate as possible, but if what Lance gets is not real, then it is totally for story purposes. Also, I know you guys have been asking some questions, but sadly, I don't PM anymore. Personal reasons. And no, Natasha won't be Lance's love interest.**

 **Rebirth**

 **Chapter 3:**

 _When I woke up, I felt numb emotionally even if my body screamed at me to just die. I spent the whole day in silence, having my thoughts as my only company. Becky had not even showed up. Then Arnold and Natasha arrived. Arnold asked if I was hungry and offered me potato chips but I silently declined. The platypus had been battling with me to get a bite to eat._

"Come on, man. You got to eat something." Arnold said as he tried to lure the porcupine into getting a bite to eat.

"…I don't want anything…" Lance whispered.

Arnold looked at him with worried and then looked at Natasha. She shrugged. "If he doesn't want to eat," She said in her thick Italian accent. "Then let him be. He'll come around." She smirked. "Or let him die of starvation if he wants." She joked.

Lance's ears perked up when he heard her voice. "Why are you here again?" He said, his voice raspy and weak.

Natasha stared at him with an impassive face. "I do community service here at the hospital. I was playing with a sick child when I saw you come in." She said. "At first I thought that I had hit you too hard with my violin." She cracked a tiny smile that soon disappeared. "But when you were taken to surgery, I asked your platypus friend here and told me everything. And I mean, _everything_ from the very beginning."

Lance wanted to glare at the platypus for spilling the beans, but he was internally too weak to do so. So he settled for a sigh. That meant she knew about Ash too.

A few seconds later, the doctor came in. "I see that you are awake, Lance."

In a normal situation, Lance would have used sarcasm and snapped back with a 'no shit', but he felt too scared to do so. The doctor turned off the lights, shut the window curtains and the room went dark, the only lights came from the cracks in the wooden curtains. "Alright, I'll take off the cloth but I need you to close your eyes for me." Lance did so and slowly he felt the cloth leaving his face. "Alright, open them up really slowly."

Lance slowly cracked his eyes open and looked around him. He seemed to be doing fine and looked up at the doctor who had a slight frown on his face. "Alright, stay still."

He grabbed a small flashlight and turned it on over Lance's eyes. He winced and looked away. The doctor nodded. "Lance, I'll open this curtain and tell me if the light bothers you." He suddenly opened the curtains and Lance winced. He covered his eyes with a pillow.

"Make it stop!" Came out his muffled cry.

The doctor closed the curtains and handed the porcupine a pair of specialized sunglasses. "Put this on." Lance did so with tears in his eyes. "I'll open the curtains again and tell me if the light bothers you now."

Lance nodded. The doctor opened the curtains and let the light come in, the porcupine shook his head. It didn't bother him. The doctor closed the curtains and turned on the lights. "Firstly, you're obviously not blind."

Lance heard Arnold and Natasha gave sighs of relief and he couldn't help but do so as well.

"However... there's a slight permanent damage. When that car hit you, very tiny bits of glass from the car's windshield got into your eyes. The car was stolen by two thieves and was being chased by the police. That's why the windshield was broken before the car hit you. They were caught and sent to jail, so you don't need to worry about that. We had to perform a surgery ASAP before any real damage happened and you would be completely blind." He paused for a moment before continuing. "The sunglasses are for your eyes own protection. The more they cover, the better. I'm giving you this pair and another one I'll get you later just in case. But feel free to get a more stylish pair. As for how long you'll have to use them, I'm sorry but the damage is permanent."

Lance looked down and lowered his ears.

"Your eyes became too sensitive to light. Right now, you can't barely take the light of a small flashlight. But with time, you can take small doses of light with the sunglasses. And in few years, two or three give or take, you can take the light of a small desk lamp. Any further recovery is up to you and your willpower. Just make sure your eyes don't come in contact with too much light without the sunglasses on. As for your aspect, I think the glasses cover up the scars around your eyes pretty good." The doctor smiled. "It could have been a lot worse." And then he left.

Scars?

Lance looked down. He felt stupid. Now he was some stupid disabled guy. Suddenly, a huge weight came crushing down upon him. He felt guilty for everything. He regretted everything. He didn't deserve any kindness at all. It was all his fault. And he _deserved_ it.

"Lance?" Arnold quietly asked.

Lance ignored him in favor off pressing his head against the pillow and slowly covering his face with the hospital blanket.

"Lance… You know I'm your best friend, right?"

No answer.

"Which means I have some comfort food in my home."

Again, no answer. Only some slight sniffs from under the blanket.

Arnold sighed. "I'll get you a sandwich just in case you get hungry." He got up from his chair and walked towards the door. "Hey, Natasha. You want anything?"

"A latte with a bit of cinnamon, diet soy milk, no caffeine, whipped cream and a cherry." She simply said.

Arnold blinked a few times. "Coffee. Got it." and he left.

Natasha turned to the porcupine. "Lance?" Yet, no answer. She sighed. "Lance, I know that we don't know each other well, but I know what you're going through."

Lance suddenly pushed away the blankets and glared at her. "What? Ever had to use sunglasses to protect your eyes for the rest of your life!? Oh wait, you haven't! Also, you broke my nose!"

Natasha scoffed. "Seems fine to me. But I should have broken your teeth instead." She said. "I meant the traumatic experience." She looked down with her impassive face. "My father… was an abusive porcupine."

Lance stared and dropped his ears.

"He never did more than just a few bruises. And my mother divorced him before he did anything worse. Money was not a problem, my mother is a recognized fashion designer in Italy. But for a little porcupine like I was, the experience was enough to mold me into a cold looking girl. But I had my mother with me…" She looked up. "All I'm saying is that you should stop and think of what you have instead of what you lost. You have sight, you're not blind. It's all about starting over."

Lance looked down in shame. But he was too arrogant to say anything.

"I'm sorry." He said; it took a lot of willpower to even say those two words. "For insulting you the other day."

"It's ok. But I won't apologize for the broken nose. It was quite fun."

Lance gave a small chuckle. "I guess I deserved it." He looked at her again. "Does this means we're… friends?" He flashed her a smirk. Natasha rolled her eyes; to her, Lance seemed like a lost case.

"No. I still don't like you or trust you." Natasha shrugged. "But we can be friendly. Just know that if you try something, I'll break your teeth."

"I'll consider it a warning then."

There was a knock on the door and Natasha stood up and opened it. There stood Arnold with one dozens of sandwiches in one hand, junk food on the other and a coffee cup balancing on top of his head.

"Coffee?" He smiled.

Natasha blushed a little bit and smiled. She took the coffee and took a sip from the hot liquid as she tried to hide her face. "Let me help you with those sandwiches."

 **Again, thank you so much for the reviews and the love.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: All this bad things happening to Lance are for story purposes, don't worry. Just trust the author. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, is one of the darkest and a 360 degree turn for Lance. Enjoy!**

 **Rebirth**

 **Chapter 4:**

Lance might have gotten a moment of revelation in the hospital, but that didn't mean he was an angel.

"Arnold can you pass me a soda?" Lance held up his hand as he sat on the couch. It's been a month since his accident and has been staying at Arnold's for about two weeks. The platypus was growing tired of it. How had Ash made it through years under the same roof with this guy, he might never know. With a frown, he grabbed a soda can and threw it at the porcupine. "Hey, don't throw it around!" Lance said without a simple thanks and gulped down the contents. He threw the can at the floor.

"Hey, I keep this place really neat and you should be grateful for letting you of all people stay here. So please, keep my place clean."

Lance burped.

Arnold frowned. "You're one nasty son of a bitch."

Lance gave him the middle finger. That wasn't the only thing Lance had done. He left his dirty clothes around, didn't wash the dishes, and left the toilet top up, between many other things Arnold preferred not to mention. Or remember. All those things he could stand, but he was already reaching a point where songwriting and composing was a nightmare. Not just Lance's, but his. Yeah, he did told Lance he was a horrible songwriter, but he didn't want to start a discussion with the porcupine. He couldn't try and play his piano or Lance would insult him that it wasn't 'rocker' enough. Or it was too cliché. Or stupid. Yeah, he played the piano and the platypus had to admit that even though he loved the drums and make some good old noise, he liked the piano. And the songs and whenever he sang… Lance would just roll his eyes and stop him even before he started singing!

"That's not music, Arnold. You should stick to the drums."

"WTF, Arnold? What are you? A high school girl?"

"Ugh! Arnold, stop that and put some REAL music."

It was his home and he did whatever the fuck he wanted to do. And no one told him what to do, with the exception of his mom. And it was his life and he would not let his own best friend to control him. So with a sigh, he grabbed his keys, his wallet and walked into the living room. Once he saw that Lance was fast asleep on his couch and making sure the porcupine had the sunglasses on and medicines by his side, he left the apartment and walked down to the bus station.

He had an _audition_ to get to.

He finally catches the bus just in time and looked out of the window while his thoughts drifted to the audition. It wasn't just any audition, but the very audition that Ash went to at the Moon Theater. He heard that the prize was lowered to ten thousand. It was a lot less, but still too good of an opportunity. A year had passed and apparently, Buster Moon wanted to try out the competition again.

Arnold was a bit nervous though. He wasn't scared of what that koala with the fluffy ears will say, not that. He was nervous of what Lance will say when he found out. He shook his head. He didn't give a fuck about what Lance thought. This was his life and this was what he wanted. He could become an awesome singer and if he won this thing, who knows? Maybe he could work at the theater as a performer while he rose up to fame just like Ash.

That was another thing he was worried about, Ash. What if he encountered her there? What if she was one of the judges? What if she dismissed him just for being Lance's best friend!?

He sighed. He just left it all to his own dumb luck.

When he finally arrived at the theater, he gasped at the amount of animals lining up there and it was only mid-morning! He sighed and stood behind a zebra whose big butt did not allowed him to see pass it. And so he waited…. And waited… and waited… until it was finally midday and FINALLY the crazy old lizard with one glass eye, which he thought it was pretty cool, let him in. Soon enough he was next in line after the zebra, whose voice made him want to cover his ears, but decided against it due to his politeness.

"Alright, young man, it's your turn. The piano is already there." The old lizard said as she led him to the stage.

Arnold took a deep breath, thanked her and walked up to the stage. He smiled at the judges. Buster Moon and—NANA NODDLEMAN!?

Arnold started to sweat. ' _OMG I LOVE THIS WOMAN BUT SHE'S SO INTIMIDATING AND SCARY AND SHE'S GOING TO JUDGE ME, SHE'S MY QUEEN AND I'M SO DEAD AND I CAN'T COMPETE WITH THAT BECAUSE SHE'S NOT GOING TO LIKE ME AND WHAT THE FUCK DO I DO NOW!?_ ' His inner voice screamed, but he managed to keep his composure on the outside. ' _I want my mom… yes, mom… I love her…_ '

"Um… Hi, I'm Arnold." He managed to say.

"Good evening, Arnold!" Buster Moon smiled at him. Nana nodded once at the platypus, which got his inner fanboy to squeal… internally.

"So, best of luck, Arnold."

"Thank you." Arnold said as he put the microphone back in its place and sat down by the piano. He took a deep breath and started to play.

" _Say babe but it feels just a little bit bigger now,_

 _Our song on the radio but it won't sound the same…_ "

By the backstage, Johnny hummed the same lyrics to the song as he helped to organize the contestants that had already auditioned and waited for the selection. He hoped that this contestant made it to the actual competition.

"… _I hope he buys you flowers_

 _And hold your hand_

 _Give you all his hours_

 _When he has the chance…_

 _Take you to every party_

' _Cause I remember how much you loved to dance_

 _Oh… all those things I should've done…_ "

He gave one last melody.

" _When I was your man_ …"

He looked up to the judges and Buster gave him a thumbs up, Nana gave him a nod and that was enough for the platypus.

"Thank you, Arnold. Can you please follow Mrs. Crawley and wait for the selection?"

"Sure thing!" He said and happily followed the old lizard.

In backstage, he saw a young gorilla approach him. "Hey, you were the one singing up there?"

Arnold chuckled. "Yeah, but I don't think I gave my best. Nana intimidated me. And I had never sung on a stage before."

Johnny shrugged. "Well, I think you did well. The name's Johnny. Please follow me."

OOO

He got in. He couldn't believe he got in. And Nana seemed impressed. Nana Noodleman! Arnold squealed. He just couldn't contain his happiness. He searched for his phone and looked through the contacts and found Natasha's number.

' _Hey! Guess what? I got in! LOL so happy!_ ' He texted.

Within seconds, he got a reply. ' _I'm so happy for you! I knew you could do it! You have an amazing voice XOXO_ '

Arnold blushed and texted back. ' _I'm not that good, but at least good enough to get in!_ '

' _Nonsense. I think you are amazing. Good thing I walked on you that day on the hospital playroom. I don't want to be a party-pooper, but who told you aren't good?_ '

Arnold waited a few seconds before texting back. ' _Lance…_ '

' _I know he's your best friend, but he doesn't have any right to tell you aren't any good. Look at you! You're already believing his lies. You can't just let him bully you around like that. If I remember correctly, isn't that the same thing that happened with his girlfriend? Didn't she got fed up by it to the point of writing a song about it?_ '

Arnold looked at his phone screen for a minute. Was he actually being bullied by Lance into thinking he wasn't good enough? Yes, he knew that. But he hadn't realized he had started to become a bit too modest about his singing because of it.

' _I don't give a damn about what Lance thinks._ '

' _You hesitated on answering. I think that you do care if you consider him your best buddy._ '

Arnold sighed. ' _Well, next time he tells me something like that, I'll have a serious talk with him._ '

' _U going to tell him about the competition?_ '

' _I have to. The guy is staying at my place for a while, remember?_ '

' _Oh right. Well, best of luck. And do tell me the competition date so I can go and see you perform_.'

Arnold blushed again. ' _Sure! I'll tell you as soon as they tell me. XD_ '

' _Hahaha alright_!'

Arnold sighed. ' _Wait._ '

' _Yeah?_ '

' _Would you like to go out with me? There's this restaurant not far from the theater, they have some cool looking glowing squids on the walls too!_ '

An agonizing minute passed before the female porcupine answered. ' _Sure! I'd love to go out with you. Pick me up at seven?_ '

' _Of course, my lady_!'

The bus stopped in front of his apartment complex and the platypus walked inside the building. He couldn't shake off the happiness even if the doubts about Lance lingered in his mind. He just got a date with the most beautiful porcupine he had ever seen and he got into a singing competition city wide! He was one lucky platypus.

He took out his keys, unlocked the white door to his apartment and stepped in, closing the door behind him. He gasped at the sight in front of him. Lance was sitting in front of the TV aimlessly changing the channels (he wondered how much he would be charged for cable this month), food laying around the floor, empty plates and bowls as well and—what was that smell!?

Lance finally looked up to him. "Where were you? I want to order a pizza but I don't have money."

Arnold scoffed as he started to pick up the trash. "Get a job then. It pays the bills and you can't stay here forever." He threw it into the trash can and proceeded to pick up plates and bowls and throw them into the dish washer.

Lance stills changed the channels. "Can we order pizza?"

"I don't have money." Arnold lied. "Why didn't you cook something for yourself?"

"Can't cook."

"Or you're too lazy." Arnold commented and took away the remote control from Lance's hand. He turned off the TV. "Dude, I'm letting you stay here for you to recover, but enough is enough. Get a job! Anything! Pay your bills, learn to cook, have a life!"

Seriously, how could Ash put up with this guy for years? Lance had only been staying for two weeks there and he was already driving him mad!

Lance yawned. "I'm too sick to get a job—"

"You're not blind, you can work. And besides, the doctor said that you shouldn't be watching TV for another two weeks due to your eyes being too weak against light. Remember? And you should take your medicines. I'm just looking out for ya because I care." Arnold said. "And I need my couch back. I've missed out on three episodes on Desperate Housewives and four on Elena of Avalor because of you."

Lance rolled his eyes. "You watch that bullshit?"

"Yes, and I like my bullshit."

Lance sighed. "Let's just order pizza."

"I have no money." He lied again.

"Where the hell where you then? Can you answer that?"

Arnold looked at Lance and sighed. "I was at an audition."

Lance started to laugh. "You? An audition? You got to be kidding me. They wouldn't pick someone like you!"

That kind of stung a bit for Arnold. "Well, they choose me to be on the next competition at Moon Theater…"

Lance stopped laughing and looked up the platypus with rage. "What?"

"Moon Theater. The very theater that Ash performs? That one."

Lance stood up and growled at him. "How could you betray me like that!?"

"Dude, chill! I didn't even saw her—"

"You went into an audition without me! I could have gotten chosen with you at the drums and—"

"SO this is about you now? Of course it's always about you and whenever you do something and if it goes wrong, you want drag everyone else down with you, right?" Arnold was surprised at himself. He never was this angry or violent.

Lance stayed silent.

"You always bully everyone around, Lance! People have tried to be nice with you, but you always push everyone away with your laziness, lack of conscience and irresponsibility."

"I'm not like—"

"Yes you are and you better shut up because it's my turn to fucking talk for once!" Arnold yelled at him. "You did the same thing with Ash. Don't give me that look, you know it's true. You controlled her, manipulated her into getting what you wanted by making her believe that you actually loved her! She let you stay in her home and she paid taxes and everything while you just slept all day. Ash was a good girl and had been nothing but faithful to you and you went on and broke her heart. She had chances to shine on her own but you brainwashed her into thinking that she wasn't worth more than a backup singer like you try to brain wash me." Arnold as he walked into his room and quickly got out with Lance's bags under his hands.

"Arnold, buddy, what are you doing—"

Arnold went around stuffing Lance's belongings into the bags. "I let you stay at my home during your recovery but it seems that not even almost going blind, almost getting killed by a car and be cheated on by Becky did not taught you anything. You don't do nothing around here! You just boss me around like I'm some slave and never listen to my advices. Yeah, I know I can be annoying but I mean good! I care about you Lance! I've known you since middle school but I have to think about myself for once! I want to perform at the Theater, I want to play the piano and become a singer and you know what? I'm good at it! I'm not a piece of shit like you say I am because you're just fucking jealous."

He took a deep breath and closed the bags. "Even Nana Noddleman nodded at me in approval! Nana Noddleman, man! That's like the highest praise for me." He threw the bags at the porcupine. By now, Arnold had tears in his eyes. "Man, you know I love you. You're my best friend and like my bro. But I can't let you drag me down and I think that if I keep helping you out, you'll just sit back and let others do the job for you."

Lance looked scared now. "Arnold, buddy, don't do this. I'm sorry!"

Arnold sighed. "You should have thought about it ten years ago." The platypus pushed the porcupine out of the door and shut it in his face.

"Arnold!" Lance knocked on the door as he yelled. "Open this door right now! Please! You're… you're my only friend…"

Arnold sighed. "Sorry, Lance…" He said as he opened the door a bit. "But I have a dream and you're just in my way. I tried to help you, I really did, but I can't do that if you don't try helping yourself." He sniffed. "You can't just walk over people like that. You have your own apartment. Get a job before things gets worse for ya. That's my last advice. I'll see you around, Lance…" He closed the door. He didn't heard anymore yelling from outside.

Arnold dried a few tears with his jean jacket sleeve. He had just lost his best friend. But he had to let Lance do things by himself from now on. Maybe that way, the porcupine will see the wrong in his actions.

Meanwhile Lance stood at the doorway with his fist about to knock on the door when he stopped himself. First Ash, then Becky, now he had lost the only other person that stayed beside him at his worst. Lance looked down and grabbed his bags. He started to head home, but not before kneeling on the hallway of the apartment building and started to do what he never did. Cry.

"What have I done?"

 **Thank you all for the attention. Now this is starting to get good so stay tuned!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Rebirth**

 **Chapter 5:**

How the hell could he get a job in this damned city!? Let alone a frozen city in the middle of January?

Lance angrily sighed and stopped a moment to check on his wallet. He had exactly three dollars and seventy five cents to get some cheap dinner. Damn his life and his life choices. He had tried everywhere where they were hiring. A restaurant, laundry cleaner, an office, gas station, and heavens forbid, a junk yard.

He still couldn't believe how low he had fallen. And just in the middle of the day a few hours ago, someone named Judith from the bank called him to give him a warning about the rent of his cheap apartment. He had three months to pay or else, he will be living on the streets. He sighed and heard his stomach growl in protest.

He walked by the now dark streets looking for something cheap to eat. He stopped in front of a very expensive restaurant that served delicious culinary delights. He frowned behind his sunglasses knowing that even if he wanted to eat there, he couldn't afford it with the amount of money he had on his pocket. But one thing caught his sight inside the restaurant.

A young male platypus sat on a table for two wearing dress pants and a white button long sleeved shirt. Arnold. He looked like he was waiting for someone. Then Lance remembered the platypus mentioned a few days ago (the day he kicked him out of the apartment) that he had gotten a date with Natasha. For a moment, Lance considered going there and try to apologize again, but he stopped himself when he saw a beautiful porcupine dressed in an elegant short black dress with heels make her way towards the table. When Arnold saw her, he stood up like a gentleman and pulled out a chair for her to sit on.

Lance had to admit it to himself; he was, still is, a little jealous of Arnold, because he was everything he knew he would never be. A good guy, a gentleman, a talented and amazing friend, a caring being, and soon it seemed, a possible loving boyfriend to Natasha if they kept it up. Yep, he was everything Lance knew he might never be.

He watched as both Natasha and Arnold chatted away, ordered their meals and drinks and kept talking.

Lance looked down. How blind he had been. With Ash, with Becky and now Arnold. He hurt a lot of people. He gave a dark chuckle at the irony of almost going blind and hypothetically being blind against the world. With one last look at what it seemed to be a future couple, he walked away from the restaurant.

He kept walking until he smelled something good in the air. It filled his nostrils and his belly growled. He decided to follow the smell until he ended up in and old food truck that served all kinds of soup for two dollars a bowl. Lance shrugged. If it smelled good it had to taste good, right?

Luckily, it turned out to be true because the potato soup there was delicious. He took his precious time on one of their tables savoring the dish, even if it was cold outside. He guessed that when you are hungry, food tastes extra good. When he finished, he promised himself he will come back another day and kept walking. In the same street, he found an antiques shop that said 'Help: Wanted'. Lance could care less about antiques, but he desperately needed a job. So with a remorseful sigh, he stepped inside the shop.

Instantly, the smell of old books and old _stuff_ seemed to slap his nose. It wasn't a bad smell, but the place sure needed some dusting. "Hello?" He said.

There was a crash coming from the background. "Oh shot… coming young man!" the voice of an old lady said.

Lance groaned. He didn't had the best experience with old ladies. Especially after his military obsessed grandma, rest in peace. ' _Be nice, Lance. Being rude is not going to get you anywhere…_ ' This had turned out to be his new motto, something to remind him that he needed to change for the better. Soon enough, an old emperor penguin with round glasses and old lady clothes (at least, that's how he always called their attire) walked out of the back closet and a smile. "Why hello, young man. Welcome to my humble store. What can I do for you?" Her old flippers trembled a little, but now that Lance looked at her, she couldn't be pass sixty.

"Um, hi. My name is Lance and I just saw your ad by the window and—" He was interrupted by the old penguin with a loud cheer.

"OH, yes, yes! The ad! Good thing you came, I've needed some help around this store since my husband died a year ago." She waddled to the window and took off the wanted ad and put on the ' _Sorry, we're closed_ ' sign. "I was already closing, but I can give you a tour and what you will be doing around the store. That is, if you desperately need the job." She looked at him with a knowing smirk. Damn, he had forgotten how old ladies knew just about everything, though, this one didn't look like she about to fall down anytime soon.

He sighed. "Yes, I'll take the job." He couldn't believe his life.

"Perfect!" The penguin said. "My name is Tamara, but you can call me Tap."

"Tap?" He couldn't help but asking.

Tap laughed. "Oh, there is one interesting story behind the nickname." She put the wanted ad over the cashier counter. "I used to be the best tap dancer in town, along with my husband. We would perform at the theater every other weekend. His name was Thaddaeus but was nicknamed Tip and I was Tap. Tip and Tap." She chuckled. "Those were the days." She walked pass him. "Follow me, please."

Lance stared in shock at the penguin. She had mentioned a theater. It couldn't be… that theater, could it? "If you don't mind me asking, Tap," He said. "That theater, by any chance, is the Moon Theater?"

Tap looked at him. "Well of course, Tip and I only performed at the best places around town." And with a smile, she turned around and began explaining to him what to do around the shop and the schedule while Lance nodded at everything she said. But on the inside, he was frustrated.

That damned theater just kept following him around.

 **Man! I seriously thought that the last chapter was going to bring down this story since it was about an OC, but when I checked the reviews… whoa! I got to love you all. Thank you so much! And don't worry, things will start to get better for Lance. Or would they? XD**


	6. Chapter 6

**Rebirth**

 **Chapter 6:**

"You can't eat soup all your life, young man." Tap warned.

"Watch me." Lance snapped.

"That big mouth of yours is what gets you in trouble."

Lance stopped on his tracks stared at the old penguin and Tap smiled. "Now go and buy a sandwich instead. There's a vendor five minutes from here."

The job wasn't so bad, if he said so himself. He started out the next morning right away with a salary with one dollar above the minimum required by the state which for the time, was more than enough and has been working for the rest of the week with Saturday and Sundays free. It was quiet unlike anything he did. And it was welcoming. His job consisted of running a few errands, cleaning and dusting the shop because Tap couldn't do it alone anymore, greet clients, stuff like that. At first he thought that because it was just a simple antiques shop, it would have a low amount of clients so he would have the time to be lazy. Boy, he was wrong. It seemed that every five minutes, after a client left, another took its place. It never exceeded the number of five clients per hour, but for an antique shop, it was quite decent.

And he learned a few things about history too!

…not… that he liked it or anything. Kind of.

"So, you said you are singer?" Tap said as she tried to fix an old watch.

"The very best." Lance smirked at her and shot her an arrogant look behind the sunglasses as he carried a few boxes to the other side of the store.

Tap nodded. "If you're as good as you say, then how come I never heard about you?" She smirked.

Lance stared in shock. Tap chuckled. "I may be old, but that doesn't mean I don't listen to newer artists." She shot him a knowing look. "Maybe your strength doesn't lay on your voice. Maybe it lays somewhere else."

Lance about to protest when he stopped himself. ' _You've learned a big lesson, Lance. Get used to it_.' He thought to himself.

Tap smiled. "Think about it, will you?"

Lance could do nothing else but to nod. Later he put some thought into her words. He took out his phone and saw a few videos of him singing and playing the electric guitar back on the day. He winced when he heard himself _sing_.

"What's that horrible noise?" Tap called from upstairs. "Lance, my boy, put that racket down, please and thank you. It sounds like a pig dying!" Of course, the old penguin didn't know that was him.

"Yeah, sorry Tap." He put down his phone and groaned. He still was an expert guitarist, but he _did_ sound like dying pig. "Maybe I need to find something else I'm good at…" He rested his cheek against his hand as he waited for more customers.

And so that's how Lance got a new job and slowly started to build a new life. But even though he had found financial relief, his personal life was a disaster.

"Why don't you go to college?" Tap mentioned one day. "Make something useful out of yourself. You're young and have the energy to do so."

Lance rolled his eyes. "Have you seen the prices for tuition nowadays? _Years_ ago it would have been easier."

Tap glared. "What are you insinuating? Back in my time, the young struggled like you!"

Lance gulped. "Nothing, ma'am." He had to keep his anger under control.

"There's also community college. It's cheaper if that's what you're worried about." She gave him a motherly smile and walked away to get some tools.

Lance really wished that the old penguin shut her mouth up. But he couldn't help but to think about everything she said and how it always made sense.

Those weeks turned into a month.

Lance walked around the streets to get to the antiques store one morning when he spotted an announcement for the grand finale of the singing competition that Arnold had gotten himself into. He hadn't talked to Arnold in a month or knew anything about him since that day he saw him on the restaurant. He took the announcement paper in his hand and stuffed it in his pocket. Maybe he could buy tickets and go see his friend, to show him how much he actually appreciated him. But that meant he would be running the risk of seeing Ash. And… he just wasn't ready to see her. He would have to think about it.

When he finally arrived at the store, He couldn't help but smile when he saw the old penguin trying to move around a Greek statue. Lance shook his head. "Let me do it, Tap."

Tap panted. "Lance, about time." She glared at the statue. "This old thing won't move. It was shipped just this morning but the mail man wouldn't help me move it around."

Tap wouldn't have noticed, but Lance knew how much he was changing. And he welcomed the change. A few months ago, he wouldn't have helped Tap move a simple statue. In fact, he might have even vandalized it a bit. But after everything that had happened, he figured it was time to grow up and behave like an adult.

"A little to the left please." Tap said. Lance pushed the heavy statue to that very direction. "Perfect! Thank you, Lance."

"You're welcome, I guess."

He found himself enjoying the quiet life. And enjoying reading books. He still wrinkled his nose at the sight of a source of knowledge, but when he had gotten his hands on 'The Secret Garden', he just couldn't stop. Sure, it was a children's book, but a young girl had traded the book for a bunch of exotic coins from other countries. That and that for the next two hours after that he had too much free time on the shop so he ended up finishing the book by the end of the day.

Some days, he couldn't help but to think about his life.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Tap would ask.

Lance feared that if he told her his story, it would make her think less of him. "It's nothing." He would answer.

Then one day, in mid-February, few days before the competition, one particular client entered the room.

"Welcome to Tip and Tap's Antiques. May I help—" He stopped mid-sentence when he saw him.

The koala.

Lance internally groaned. ' _Be nice, Lance... the guy has done nothing wrong to you…_ '

Buster Moon smiled. "Good afternoon. I was wondering if you could help me with something."

Lance nodded. "Um… sure. What do you need?"

The koala took out an old metal bucket that said 'Moon's Car Wash'. "How much is for a full polish?"

Lance arched an eyebrow. "Five dollars." He knew the koala was an odd guy, but a bucket? He really didn't want to know why a bucket. He went off to get the tools. "It will be done in a bit, sir." Lance wondered if the koala remembered him. He went to the table and set the polishing tools on it while Buster looked around the store. The koala said nothing while Lance polished the weird bucket.

"Here you go sir." The porcupine handed the bucket.

Buster smiled as he took the bucket. "Thank you. How much was it again?"

"Five bucks."

The koala handed him a five dollar bill. "Thank you, Lance."

"You're wel—" Of course the koala would remember him. He sighed. "So you do remember the jerk that cheated on Ash." He admitted. He regretted everything he did.

"Yup." Buster said.

"So you just came here to polish the weird bucket or just to torment me and give me a sermon? Go ahead." He rested his cheek on his hand. "I'm listening. Kind of deserved it."

"Actually." Buster said with a smile, but Lance could tell that he was just being polite. Stupid koala. "I come over here every once in a while to see Tap. But I wasn't expecting you to be working here of all places."

Lance rolled his eyes being his sunglasses. "Yeah… coincidences. She's not here right now. She went to check on some supplier for some weird antique."

"Oh." Buster lowered his ears. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened to you?"

Lance stared and then dropped his own ears. He sighed. "I got what I deserved. That's all."

Buster gave him a sympathetic smile. "Well, you what's the best thing of hitting rock bottom?" Lance looked up, waiting for an answer. "There's only one way to go, and that's _up_." He smiled. "And please, when you see Tap, give this to her." He placed a small box, one like the ones they use for gift cards, and placed it on the counter. "I better be off, got work to do. I'll see you around then, Lance." And he left the store.

Lance just stared at the doorway. He honestly thought the koala would walk off as soon as he saw who the porcupine was, but he didn't. Maybe… he could still make it up to those he hurt the most.

It wasn't long before Tap arrived with a box on her flippers. "Lance, my boy, help me here."

Lance went and took the heavy box from the penguin. Tap sighed in relief. "Thank you. Put it over the book section, I'll handle it later." She walked to the counter and saw the box. Seeing her name on it and recognizing the handwriting, she took it and opened it up. She smiled when she saw the contents. "Lance?"

"Yes, Tap?" He said as he set the box on the floor.

"How do you feel about watching a singing competition next week?"

 **There you go, guys. Sorry about not updating sooner, got caught up in something. The story is soon coming to an end, but I'm working in a few other fics. Review!**


End file.
